Rose

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Rose Page 14

by Chris Keniston


  The glimmer of light reflected off a metal strip of the floating car that had what felt like an insurmountable lead on all the shouting people running after it. Marylou was going to need a miracle.

  Cole and Logan reached the Point first. Somehow one of them had gotten hold of a bundle of rope her grandfather had brought out. Standing ankle high in water at the edge of the Point, Logan tied one end of the rope on the metal ladder as Cole tied the other end around his waist.

  Thank heaven Cole was here. A fireman by profession, he was the best one to rescue the old woman. The only thing better might have been a professional life guard; after all, how often did firemen have to rescue people under water.

  “How long have we got?” Logan asked, just as Rose reached them.

  Having secured the knot, Cole kicked off his boots and looked up. “Five minutes. If we’re lucky, maybe a couple more.”

  Lifting her gaze to the lake, Rose could see that at the mouth of the creek, the force of the rushing waters had pushed the car to the side and it had stopped about twenty feet from the edge of the Point. Ten minutes didn’t seem like much time.

  “Is she climbing out?” a voice asked from over Rose’s shoulder.

  “Doesn’t look that way,” Cole answered, then quickly dove into the lake. The water splashed behind him as his feet propelled him slowly forward against the rising water.

  “I’ll take that end.” Logan reached for the rope Jake held beside him.

  Staring after Cole and praying for both him and Marylou, it took a few seconds for her to realize that this time Logan was tying the rope around himself not the ladder. He was going in after Cole. The man was a Texan. And a geek. Her heart lurched and lodged in her throat. She wanted to scream NO but nothing came out.

  * * * *

  “This might help.” Jake pulled a small tool from his key chain. “Supposed to shatter glass in an emergency. No idea if it works, but…”

  Logan nodded, double checked the knotted rope around his waist and looking up, his gaze momentarily locked with Rose. There was no time for comfort; a reassuring smile as he turned and dove in was all he could offer. He wasn’t even sure that she could see it in this storm.

  The choppy water splashed at his face, robbing him his breath as his head broke through the water. The downpour made visibility in the water even worse than above ground. Thank heaven for the spotlight. Shaking away the excess water, even though in the heavy storm and at this distance the light was pretty dim, at least he was able to spot the car and Cole. Already the front end was pointed downward and the hood was completely under water. He pushed forward, losing sight of Cole as the fireman disappeared under the water, finally springing up on the other side. The doors had to be locked. Cole was using both his feet to kick in the passenger side window, but wasn’t getting enough leverage.

  As Logan reached the car, Cole reappeared on this side. The driver, an older woman as expected, was awake but not moving.

  “She’s probably in shock,” Cole shouted. “I’m going to try the rear window.”

  “Jake gave me this.”

  Cole’s eyes lit up at the handheld tool. Apparently the thing might just work and from Cole’s expression, he knew what to do with it. Within moments the glass was shattered. Cole had already removed his t-shirt and wrapped it around his hand to clear away all the shards of glass.

  Following his lead, Logan stripped off his shirt and laid it across the edge for added protection when the woman climbed out.

  “Marylou!” Cole shouted, but the woman barely reacted. “We have to get you out. Can you unbuckle your seat belt? I need you to give me your arms.”

  Nothing. It looked like the only way to get Marylou out alive was going to be giving her a shove. “I’ll try the back window.”

  Already leaning into the car and cutting off her straps with that same tool, Cole continued shouting at the woman and Logan said a silent prayer. He’d done a lot of MacGyver moves on the ranch through the years, but none ever involved life and death.

  Around the rear he lifted himself onto the bumper and shifted around until his arms held all his weight. One kick. Two. Three and the glass cracked. Yes! Another kick and both his feet were inside. Another minute and so was he, and a barking dog, and lord help him. A little boy! Please let him be sleeping and not injured.

  Cole’s head whipped around at the dog’s barks. Apparently he hadn’t noticed the back seat either. Logan checked the boy’s pulse. Strong. Thank heaven. The dog barked again. The boy didn’t budge, but at least the bark seemed to snap Marylou into reality.

  “Rocky!” she shouted.

  “Come on, Marylou. Reach for me,” Cole encouraged.

  “What happened?”

  “You got swept into the lake. Reach for me.”

  “Oh my God, Jimmy.”

  “We know, Marylou, but I can’t get anyone else out until I get you out. Reach for me.”

  Marylou had twisted but struggled to crawl through. Logan squirmed between the dog and boy, both harnessed into the backseat, and positioned himself on the passenger side. “Sorry about this, ma’am.” Placing his hands low on her derriere, he gave the woman a gentle but firm nudge.

  “Oh!” Marylou shrieked as Cole pulled her the rest of the way out.

  “You got this?” Cole asked.

  “Go.” Though he had no idea how he was going to swim in this storm with a little boy and his dog. “I sure hope you can dog paddle.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  How long had it been since Logan disappeared into the car? Rose’s heart slammed against her rib cage with more force than she’d ever felt before.

  “Breathe.” Lily squeezed her arm and spoke softly at her ear.

  So consumed by concern for Logan, Rose had almost forgotten that Lily’s husband was risking his life to save a stranger as well.

  “They’ll be okay.” Lily’s grip tightened. If that was for Rose’s benefit or her own she didn’t know but she was damn happy to have her cousins at her side.

  “She’s out!” Iris shrieked from Rose’s other side.

  “And she’s moving around!” Lily released her hold on Rose and did a fist pump.

  Eric and Jake stood on either side of the ladder and began pulling the rope in to help bring Cole and Marylou to shore, but where was Logan?

  Why wasn’t he coming out?

  Cole and Marylou were almost to the Point. Rose kicked off her boots and standing in bare feet just inside the stone walled edge, kept her gaze on the car. Still no sign. Why did Cole leave him?

  “What are you thinking?” Lily grabbed her arm again.

  “Something’s wrong.”

  “Cole will go back. He’s almost here. Or one of the others. They’re stronger swimmers.”

  “I’m a good swimmer,” she insisted.

  “We all are. But they’re stronger.”

  Her mouth hung open ready to give one last protest when a cheer erupted from the ladder. At first she thought it was the safe rescue of Marylou, but Cole had yet to reach the ladder. Swinging around to face the water again she saw why everyone had cheered. Apparently she wasn’t the only one worried about what was taking so long. Logan emerged, not from the side window like Cole, but from the rear window, and not alone.

  The three men strained to get Marylou to the top of the ladder and into Fiona Hart’s waiting arms. She and Callie were in charge of triage. Hopefully Marylou and Poppy would be the only two casualties of the night. And hopefully neither was serious.

  In the few seconds Rose had shifted her gaze to Cole and Marylou, Logan had gone from the car into the water and was now being pulled to shore the way they’d done with the earlier rescue. All she could see was Logan’s face and a bundle on his back.

  With Cole on this end of the rope now, as well as Eric and Jake, they pulled Logan in faster than with only two men, but not fast enough for Rose’s liking. Why didn’t they pull hard…er. She blinked, twice, as Logan came more clearly into view. He didn’t j
ust have a bundle on his back. A little boy clung to his neck, but not with fear; the kid was laughing like the proverbial hyena.

  “Look at that!” Lily pointed. “Oh my lord. He’s got a dog too!”

  Sure enough, paddling alongside him, she could see a canine muzzle poking out above the water. “What the hell?”

  Once Logan and company reached the stone wall, Jake held onto the rope, Eric reached down to retrieve the four-legged victim, and Cole loosened the rope to pull the child from Logan’s back. Keeping a hold on the youngster’s hand, Cole set him on his feet inside the edge of the wall.

  Logan propelled himself off the ladder and over the wall, coming to stand by the boy.

  “Can we do that again?” the kid asked gleefully.

  Tension rolled from everyone’s shoulders as the group of stressed adults let out a choral laugh from deep down in their belly.

  Standing ankle high in water, Logan kneeled in front of the boy and tussling his wet hair, smiled down. “Maybe on a sunny day. Without the car.”

  * * * *

  “No one is going anywhere.” Fiona Hart looked pointedly at each of her grandchildren. Not a single one dared contradict the beloved family matriarch.

  “At least it’s a big house with lots of rooms.” Eric slipped his arm around his wife. This was only the second time Logan had met Iris. The first was briefly at the auction. When he’d heard her described as a native New Yorker he had to admit that the Texan in him expected the uppity worst from her. To his surprise, she was as nice as all the cousins. Every one of them had rolled up their sleeves and pitched in. Even Poppy with her bruised legs had insisted on helping tend to Mrs. Parker and her grandson until the paramedics could get through. Fortunately, in the chaos of the rescue, Lady and Sarge stepped in to do their share, keeping the dog Rocky in line.

  And despite the pounding rain, when the dam broke threatening Hart Land, Cindy and Alan descended the mountain to render aid where needed. After the unexpected water rescue, the threat of flooding didn’t seem to hold as much power over anyone at Hart House. The main house was high enough to avoid risk, and there wasn’t a basement in New England that didn’t have its issues with water now and again.

  Instead of continuing to work on raising the wall in the pouring rain once the rush of the dam break had passed, the members of the family had been dispersed to different rooms in the charming Victorian, showered, changed into dry clothes, and two by two reappeared in the heart of the home. The kitchen.

  Earlier in the storm, when Cole arrived, having picked up Eric on his way, Iris and the kids had stopped for Cindy, and Alan had already been on his way down the mountain when Cole put out the call for help. The concept of circling the wagons was still strong in this clan. Regardless of Fiona Hart’s decree that the family was to remain close to the nest, Logan had the feeling no one had had any other plan in mind.

  “I know it’s well past supper time,” Lucy stood center of the massive island, a bit like King Arthur holding court at the round table, “but is anyone hungry?”

  Arms shot up.

  “That’s what I thought.” The woman who was clearly more than a housekeeper slapped her hands together and rubbed enthusiastically. “One pot luck midnight buffet coming up.”

  The sound of sliding chairs shifting filled the room. Lily and Cindy headed for the back freezer, Iris and Poppy reached for aprons, even the men moved about the house not like in laws but like family by blood. Plates were removed from cupboards, silverware from drawers, and Logan looked to Rose carrying a basket of condiments to the other room.

  Pushing to his feet, he met her at the dining room door. “Anything I can do to help?”

  She shook her head. “You and Cole are relieved of duty for this one.”

  He hadn’t noticed that of all the men, Cole was the only one absent.

  “Is he all right?”

  Rose’s smile took over her face. “While everyone else hit the showers, he got waylaid corralling one of the strays and her litter. Apparently firemen rescue cats from more than just trees. He should be down any minute.”

  “I’d like to help.” He took a step closer.

  Her gaze softened and his heart swelled. Inside the old car there had been a moment when he struggled with the latch on the little boy’s car seat and the Firebird had slid deeper and the water rose higher. For a split second it pained him more than he thought, not that he might never see the light of day, but that he might never see those beautiful green eyes again. Hear her voice. Or see that massive binder she used to stay organized. He realized that those sappy chick flicks were true. When you find the one, sometimes, you just knew.

  “Please?” he added.

  A smile teased at the corner of her lips. “Fine. You can help set the table, but if Lucy comes after me you’ll have to fend her off.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He smiled.

  Somehow, despite the house filled to the brim with people, he and Rose wound up the only two people in the dining room. He started disbursing the stack of plates someone had left on the table.

  “I feel sort of sorry for Mrs. Parker.” Rose set the napkins by each plate Logan laid out. “She really loved that car.”

  He’d been a little surprised to see how upset she’d become when the shock and adrenaline wore off and she’d realized she’d lost the Rockford-mobile, as she called it. He thought only men developed extreme attachments to cars. Though in Mrs. Parker’s case it might have been more the attachment to the Rockford Files star James Gardner than the actual car. “And James Gardner.”

  Rose chuckled. “I wonder how her grandson will feel when he grows up and realizes he’s named after his grandmother’s favorite name from a TV show?”

  “He probably won’t care.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  Done with the dishes, he grabbed a stack of knives and rotated the other way around the table, bumping into Rose as she did the same with the forks. The contact made him stop. Now was his chance. How often were the two of them alone in this family? “What would you think if I were to come to Boston for a visit?”

  “You want to come to Boston?” Her eyes widened with surprise. What he didn’t know was if it was in a good or bad way.

  He nodded. “I’ve heard so much about your museum. And there’s so much history…”

  “There is that.” She made no effort to move, but the twinkle in her eyes dimmed.

  What the hell, in for a penny in for a pound. If she didn’t feel the same he might as well find out now. “And you.”

  “Me?” The sparkle in her eyes returned.

  He nodded. “I have a tremendous amount of liberty with my job.”

  “Telecommute?”

  “That, but mostly because I don’t need it so my bosses bend over backwards so that I’ll stay.”

  “Would that explain the auction? Or was that about the ranch you own?”

  “My family owns. Not me.”

  “Okay.” She set another fork on the table, but stood rooted in place. “I’m afraid I’m a little confused. What exactly are you saying?”

  Sucking in a deep breath, he blinked hard and reached for her hands, folding them and the few remaining forks in his. They were so small and soft. “I want to spend more time with you. A lot more time. And if it means spending that time in Boston, my job, my life will let me do that.” Her smile widened, giving him courage to take the plunge. “I love you and would like for us to have some more time to discover if you could ever feel the same way.”

  Her mouth dropped open and then snapped shut. “Love,” she whispered.

  “I know it’s soon. Too soon. And you probably think I’m crazy, but I’ve been around the block a time or two and I’m smart enough to know you are not only special, you are one of a kind, and—”

  She silenced him with her fingertip. Eyes sparkling, she inched closer to him. “I think you’re pretty special too. I’d love it if you could spend time in Boston.” She grinned up at hi
m. Dropping the forks on the table with a clang, Rose stretched her hands around his neck, brushed her mouth against his and whispered, “Emphasis on love.”

  If it was humanly possible for his heart to leap for joy, it would. His lips pressed against hers and Logan couldn’t think of a single reason to ever return to Texas.

  “Oh,” a voice exclaimed, followed by the low thud of colliding bodies.

  “Ouch. Why are you stopping?” Poppy asked.

  Rose pulled away, her cheeks blushing the same shade of pink as her cousin Callie.

  “I, uh,” Callie looked from Rose to Logan and practically tossed a basket of rolls onto the table. “I’ll leave these here.” Spinning about, she shoved Poppy forward. “I think I hear Lucy calling.”

  “But…” Poppy sputtered as her cousin ushered her out the door.

  “Sorry about that,” Rose said.

  “Don’t be. Now where were we?”

  She raised up on her tippy toes and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips. “Setting the table.”

  “Right.” Somehow nothing seemed more exciting than setting the table with Rose. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind, she might have reeled him in, but he’d won the prize. Life was about to get very, very good.

  Chapter Eighteen – Epilogue

  Peace was clearly over rated. When the entire Hart clan came together, the low hum of friendly banter occasionally bookended by the animated debates of a friendly card game was music to Callie’s ears.

  “They’re here,” Poppy yelled into the house. Lucy had been waiting for the last of the cousins in order to put warm the rolls.

  The late summer shower had Rose and Logan running hand in hand from the car and pretty much sprinting up the steps.

  “Whew.” Rose shook off the water and twirled her long hair into a knot at the back of her head. “So much for sunshine and blue skies this weekend.”

  Hellos and hugs made the rounds. A few shouts from the kitchen, an interrupted card game, and lastly a long, warm greeting from Grams.

 

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